I'm well-aware of what a tricky thing memory can be, but in firing up the W1 recently, I was struck by a couple of things I remember much differently from my previous play-throughs. I don't know if any of this was the result of changes the 1.5 patch made or whether it's just a case of my memory being faulty. Hang with me here...;)

1) I love the gritty realism of the Witcher series. In W1 I especially liked the gnarled "old ladies" in Vizima who were always complaining about this or that, talking about dying, and other stuff--wailing about it in the streets. But for some reason--they don't *sound like* old women anymore, they sound like much younger women trying to imitate the old crone voices I remember so well. Those old crones *sounded* like old crones ought to sound--except that now they don't, for some reason.

OK, one of the phrases I loved and recalled was an "old crone" line: "You bring trouble!"...OK, I don't know why but I like that a lot...;) I noticed on this play-through that what I'd hear "You bring trou--" and then it suddenly cut off--exactly as if it had been edited out. Then I tried to talk with the same woman and the "You bring Trou--" voice was completely gone, and back was the young woman trying (but failing) to sound like an old crone.

I very much felt as if someone had redone some of the voice tracks for some reason. It's just not what I remember. Question is, did someone redo the voice tracks at some point (I cannot imagine why they'd have done this), or is this simply a case of my mind remembering reality incorrectly? Just thought I'd ask...;)

2) Other thing I noticed was that the *faces* looked a bit strange...;) It's like there's a kind a blur around the eyes that I just don't recall being there (I know, it probably *was.*)

If nothing's been changed then this is a somewhat amusing case on the unreliability of an eyewitness, and we can sometimes recall things that weren't actually there (which is interesting if not a bit spooky)...;)

Here's what I did, I was so convinced my generally excellent memory was not at fault that I uninstalled the Gog-installer version of Witcher 1 and reinstalled the game from my disks, and then manually applied the 1.5 patch that I got from a source independent of Gog. I also made sure that I installed DX9.0c again--the last released version, June 2010.

Result? *The same* everything was the same--identically, the same. No difference. So either my memory is just spinning yarns or else what I am remembering is the pre-1.5-patch versions, and things were somewhat different in that earlier version. Sometimes it isn't unusual for stuff to get changed because it is thought it needs to be improved, but the actual result is something less than the original in terms of the quality achieved.

Anyone venture an opinion?...;)

I just thought of a possibility on the audio...when playing the W1 through several times I was at that time using external speakers--a $400 set of Klipsch 5.1's. These days I'm using headphones for several reasons, and I actually prefer the sound fidelity of the phones over the speakers, although for years I was somewhat of a speaker enthusiast. Now I'm wondering if I am maybe hearing the old women *with greater accuracy* than through my speakers before, which might be why things seem to sound so different. Yet, since I recall the old women as sounding much more like *real* old crones doing the voice overs, it is difficult to believe that my speaker system would sound more realistic if it was degrading the sound in comparison with my present set of headphones--but certainly that is possible.

Many voice tracks were added for the Enhanced Edition (1.4). However, as far as I know, the majority of new lines were supplemental, not replacements. I know some models got replaced as well. The idea here was to create more variation in NPC's. Instead of every old woman looking and sounding the same, every fat merchant looking and sounding the same, etc.

I remember the "You bring trouble" old woman voice making many appearances in the current version. If it used to be even more prevalent in older versions, well I'm sorry you miss it, but I think it's common enough in the game.

Thanks, bengeddes! I really appreciate your reply...I'm just relieved that my memory wasn't at fault in this matter. I love the game, still, and these are minor things to be sure, but I do think some of the voice tracks pre-EE were actually better in terms of quality and believability.

My problem is that I no longer have the pre-1.4 versions of the game...! I only have the original Atari-published EE (1.4) version on CD, and of course the latest Gog version--but my original version of the Witcher--probably the first released version in the states (pre-patch, really slow saving/loading)--has simply and inexplicably disappeared for all time. Ah, well...

I didn't mean to imply that I didn't hear "You bring trouble!" any more from the old crones--yes, it's still there just as you say. What I confess not liking is the fact that right after the voice does the "you bring trouble" line the crone continues speaking--but in an entirely different--noticeably different, voice. A voice that very clearly sounds like a young woman trying to sound like an old crone...;) In one case you can actually hear the edit as the word "trouble" is cut off mid-stream, and the old crone cintinues in a much different voice. It just sort of degrades that gritty sort of realism that I enjoyed in the game's original sound track at the time. The newer voice overs were in fact simply not as good--the original voice actors sounding much more professional to my ears. Many of the voices are identical--Geralt sounds the same as always. But a few others are noticeably off as well. Thanks again for your informed reply.